Confident in my Confidant
by Rikkamaru
Summary: Odd feels like a fifth wheel, so he does the only thing that makes sense: becomes a student counselor. And as he forms a bond with many of the younger students, the others figure out what he means to them. Odd-centric, UxY, JxA
1. And so it Begins

Don't own Code Lyoko.

For anyone who follows me in another fandom, please don't kill me. OTL

This takes place after the end of the series, which I put a little bit before half-way through Odd's freshman year.

Confident in my Confidant

* * *

><p>"So, Mr. Della Robbia, can you tell us why you want to be a student counselor? You are, after all, only a sophomore at the moment."<p>

Odd shuffled his feet nervously but stared the head counselor straight in the eye. If he appeared to have a motive behind this, he knew they wouldn't hesitate to reject him. "My friends are great, and studies are a little difficult, but I actually want to help people, sir. Already, there are people who trust me to keep their secrets, and I want to be there for others as well."

All of what he said was entirely true, but they were only the outer reasons. Truthfully, Odd had begun to feel like a third (or, in this case, fifth) wheel to his friends. Jeremie had Aelita, and Ulrich had Yumi, leaving Odd staring at their backs as they all walked into the sunset like the happy little couples they were.

Only a year had passed since they defeated Xana, and yet so much had changed. Ulrich and Yumi finally pulled together their courage and are now happily going out, and Jeremie and Aelita were without a doubt completely smitten with one another.

That left Odd. Still the undeniably shortest of them all, the biggest change in him occurred deep within his psyche. Half-way through their freshman year, Ulrich had moved in with Jeremie, complaining that Odd was too noisy for him to be able to study. Principal Delmas was very understanding and agreed to it, which left Odd without a roommate. And, in Odd's mind, without a confidant.

The changes started small enough that no one was able to notice. Odd began to study, his grades grudgingly improving to where his steady seventy-five became an eighty-three, which, should his friends have noticed, was shocking for the dreamy blonde. Then, in the summer between freshmen and sophomore year, Odd had broken his right arm, leaving him unwillingly becoming ambidextrous (the idea of sisters even so much as _offering_ to help their injured brother had sent him into a fit of hysterics when he was coming off the medication at the hospital).

Then there were the Lyoko-related changes. After Xana and Lyoko were shut down, Odd was unfortunately left without any type of way to left off steam. Since Jeremie never had this problem, and Ulrich and Yumi made little sparring "dates", the blonde was left to fend for himself on ways to relieve stress. So he looked for inspiration in what he thought was the best possible place: the urban jungle of Paris while on a field trip.

During this little excursion, something had caught the then-freshman's eyes, and he got separated from the group to chase after some teens doing incredible acrobats above the crowds on the rooftops. It took a while, but he managed to corner the older teens and asked them what they had been doing.

The seeming leader of the group let out a chortle, and asked, "What, you've never heard of parkour?"

Once they explained the concept to Odd, and did a few moves as examples, it didn't take long for the feline-like blonde to fall into desperately hopeless love with the art. He begged them to teach him, right then and there, the main techniques and concepts, and taught himself the more advanced stuff in his lonely single room, with only his dog checking in on him and comforting him when he fell.

The last, and perhaps largest invisible change in Odd, was how he felt about the younger students. He went from teasing them, to tolerating them, until one day.

* * *

><p>As he was walking down a hallway on one day, he passed by a closet when a sound caught his attention. He pressed his face closer to the door, and then his expression dropped as he recognized the sound. Someone was sobbing on the other side of the door.<p>

The freshman had been torn at the time; should he ask what's wrong or leave the younger student to calm down on their own? The blonde cringed a little as he made his decision, but knocked gently on the door. "Hey, are you okay in there? Who is this?"

The sobbing stopped immediately, and the person on the other side knocked back before speaking, her voice still shaking. "My name is Emily. Can you let me out? Some mean older kids pushed me in here and it's too small and I can't breathe well in here."

_Oh my God._ Odd thought, paling a little as recognition set in. _Some asshole high schooler locked a claustrophobic girl in a closet._ He immediately turned the knob which, being lockable from the outside, opened the door without a problem. He was then tackled by the young girl on the other side, who hugged him without any hesitation. Her rapid and sniffling "thank you"s continued until they dissolved into relieved sobbing, her face pressed against his hoodie for comfort.

Odd hugged her back, and then looked around. There would be a lot of awkward explanations if he was caught like this, and the girl should probably go to the infirmary, so there not much else he could do. Shifting her gently, he whispered calming words to her before slowly picking her up bridal style.

The girl tensed, then calmed down a little and continued pressing her face to his hoodie. The trip to the nurse's office didn't take long at all, and soon Odd was laying the now sleeping girl gently on a bed while explaining to the nurse what happened. The woman, kind and used to seeing Odd due to his way of annoying people who liked to berate him physically, nodded grimly before sending the student a small smile.

"Thank you for helping her, Odd. And can I make a request?"

"What is it, Nurse Mollis?" The question was more a formality; they both knew that the blonde would do as she asked. The nurse was almost like a mother to him, especially since his real mother was too busy caring for his five sisters to be a mother for him.

"Make sure the person who did this knows just how _unamused_ you are, would you?" The kind look that usually adorned the woman's face was gone, and the smile that had once been there changed into a sharp smirk. One of the things she liked about the mischievous student was his backbone against the crueler students. It made her laugh as she helped bullies get their hands free from being glued to their hair.

The blonde paused, then grinned wickedly. "You got it, Nurse M." He then walked out of the room and after stepping far enough away, changed it to a prowl-like stalk. The person who did this will learn why you never play on someone's fears around him.

During lunch the next day, when Odd was sure that both the perpetrator and Emily were in the room, the fun began. He stood up, saying he was getting more food, and turned to rush to the line. There, right in front of the entire room, he "accidentally" bumped into an eleventh grade girl who had a cap hiding her face and hair.

The collision forced him to fall back, but the girl remained standing, with one key difference. Her hat had fallen off. The room took one look at the girl when the snickering began.

Her short cut hair was dyed yellow and neon green in some parts, but the real amusement came from her face. Carefully drawn onto her face was a villain-esque goatee and curly mustache. Those close enough to clearly see her face noticed that her eyelids had also been marked, another pair of eyes appearing whenever she closed her real ones.

The pranked girl, Mia, was one of the top people in the high school food chain, and she readily abused that power whenever she had the chance. The only reason no one was outright laughing was because they knew she could ruin their reputation as quickly as she could lift a pencil.

Odd, after standing up and getting her hat (and discreetly taking photos with a camera in his other hand that was carefully placed in his pants pocket), gave her the head ware and smiled apologetically. "Sorry about that; and I completely sympathize with you wearing your hat. I hate bad hair days as much as the next person." He finished with a smile and ran to the lunch line, ignoring the baffled looks half of the cafeteria was shooting him.

The girl quickly walked to her seat and, after shooting a number of people glares, the room slowly returned to its noisy self. No one noticed that, as Odd walked back to his seat with more food, he winked playfully at a quiet junior high student, who giggled and smiled back while mouthing, "thank you" to him softly.

Though it had been near the end of the year, that day created a vigilante out of Odd. He never retaliated if the prank was harmless (by his standards) or accepted by the younger student, but if it was meant to cruelly use a fear or phobia against them, the blonde would lash out, and prank the older student back in an embarrassing way. The only people who knew of this were the previously pranked younger students, and the nurse, who he would show the pictures he got from each prank to.

* * *

><p>Odd returned from his thoughts to see the counselor nodding thoughtfully to himself. "That all sounds promising, but I need to ask you one more question Odd. While I trust that you'll keep any secret the students tell you to yourself, is there something we can use as a way to negate anything you admit to your friends by accident? Leverage, if you will?"<p>

The blonde nodded and gave the man a bitter grin. "Look at me, sir. I'm just a goofball blonde that pranks people and sleeps through class and screws around. This reputation is so strong that, even if I were to shout someone's most embarrassing secrets to everyone in the cafeteria, no one would believe me. They'll just think it's one of my terrible jokes or something."

The counselor smiled then, and offered his hand. "Then I think you just got yourself an on-campus position, Mr. Della Robbia."

Odd smiled back and shook his hand. "Thanks, Counselor Valerian. I have a question really quick; unless the student needs to be seen by a professional counselor, I'm allowed to keep their identities and profiles confidential, correct? I don't want to show you their information if they don't want me to."

The man's smile didn't waver; in fact, he seemed quite pleased that Odd asked that question. "That is correct."

The blonde's smile grew into a grin. "Awesome! Well, I'm going to head back to my room. I'll see you later, Counselor Valerian."

The man raised his hand in farewell and chuckled. "Good-bye, my boy! Good luck with your classes!"

Odd had only taken a few steps from the office when a smaller body collided with his. His refined reflexes let him catch the other, and he looked down to lock his gaze with blue eyes before smiling gently at the other. "Hey, Emily."

"Hey, Odd. Did you get approved to be a student counselor?" The seventh grader hopped excitedly by her brother figure, and followed him to his new room in the co-ed dorms, which were used for teachers and special circumstances.

The sophomore grinned and entered the building, finding his room on the first floor with little trouble. He opened it and walked in, leaving the door open for the younger student to enter. He dropped his box of things on the floor and flopped onto the bed. "You know it, Em. You're now allowed to go to me for help without heading to the adults as well." From the bag he had carefully placed on his stomach, Odd pulled his dog out and put him on the floor.

The little brunette watching him let out a cheer and tackled him. "That's awesome, Odd!"

The blonde grinned and looked out the window, watching as the sunlight filtered through. "You're right, Em, it is."

* * *

><p>Nurse Mollis: Her full name is Arnica Mollis, which is an herb used to treat bruises, strains, and sprains.<p>

Counselor Valerian: Valerian is a type of herb that can be used as a type of sedative.

Parkour: I feel that Odd, with a small body and cat like attitude, would be really proficient in parkour. Plus, I wanted him to learn something that wasn't fighting-based, and parkour was created in France, so I thought it would be cool to give him.

Since I really screwed up the timeline that I made for Odd, here's a way to sum it up: all of the changes took place during his ninth grade second semester, except for the ambidextrous thing, which he gained over the summer. It is currently (in the story) the beginning of his tenth grade year.

All of these characters are OCs. And, as a warning, there WILL be more OCs. Odd will NOT be getting a girlfriend at all in this story. I see him as the little/big brother you can't help but love. This story will focus on Odd's relationship with the younger students as his friends slowly figure out how much he means to the group. It also focuses on Odd just being Odd, if a little more serious as well.

Please review.

Ja ne!


	2. The Eye of Lyoko

Don't own Code Lyoko.

The Eye of Lyoko

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><p>Odd walked with Emily around the campus, neither really having a reason to be out, but neither wanting to unpack their stuff yet either. As they rounded a corner, someone collided with Odd, making him stabilize the person while falling himself. <em>What's with people and running into me?<em> Odd groused. The person he saved gasped a little as she recognized him, and a hand appeared in his vision.

"Odd! Watch where you're going, would you?"

Odd grabbed the hand to help him up, and looked at the person. "Hey Yumi! Sorry about that! What'cha out here for?"

Yumi faintly smiled back at Odd and picked up a box that most likely had some of Aelita's stuff in it. "Ulrich agreed to help me unpack and we were wondering where you had disappeared to. You haven't pranked anyone, have you?" She finished with a suspicious glance, but Odd just grinned and shot her a confused look.

"Nope. Helping you unpack? You're staying here now?"

"Yeah. Even though I live nearby, I thought it would help me focus if I didn't have home stress to go with school stress."

Odd looked at her, then let a smug grin cover his face. "Ah, I see. So you asked Ulrich to come along so he could help you "unpack", huh?" Yumi blushed at what he was implying, and Emily giggled from her spot beside Odd.

The Japanese girl heard the sound and, not expecting the noise, jumped a little and looked at the smaller girl. "Who is this, Odd? Your prank protégé?" she asked this, but thought _God help us all_ as she eyed the girl.

Odd grinned; he liked the sound of that, but he shook his head sadly. "Nope. This is Emily. She's a younger student and I thought I could show her where her classes are."

Yumi's skeptical look was well deserved and showed just how likely she thought that was. "Right. How…_kind_ of you." She shifted her box awkwardly and moved around the blonde. "See you later, Odd."

He waved back happily and walked on with Emily trailing close behind. "Who has that, Odd?"

"Oh, that was my friend, Yumi. Don't let her warm ray of happiness fool you, she's pretty serious."

Emily snorted at that and bumped into Odd jokingly. "No doubt about that. But she didn't really act like your friend."

Odd frowned a little before grinning again and waving at a number of the passing younger students, many waving back just as excitedly. The few that seemed to understand what they were doing began to trail after the two, forming a little pack in no time. Odd grinned at the little following and led them to a large tree before turning to Emily again. "Don't worry; she always acts like that. None of them really act like my friends."

Emily frowned but couldn't say anything as they reached the tree and Odd climbed onto one of the lower hanging branches. "All right all right! A new school year, a new beginning, and so many familiar faces! Is there anyone new in the crowd who doesn't know me?" The younger kids laughed at Odd's radio voice and three of the group of seven raised their hands.

The blonde grinned. "All right! New faces are gracing my presence and we should respond accordingly! Get some blankets and food, and meet me here!" The children nodded and ran to their rooms, Emily joining them in the excitement. Odd jumped from the tree and started jogging to his room as well. Since it wasn't that far, he quickly got in, grabbed his boom box, some bags of chips, his shades, and paused. He slowly turned to look at a folded square of black cloth, then picked it up. It was silky in his hands, and Odd couldn't help but smile at it softly before putting it in his hoodie so that it didn't fall out.

He ran back to the tree quickly, and reclaimed his perch on the low hanging branch. He placed the shades over his eyes and it didn't take much longer for the rest of the students to return, and once they did he shot them a grin and turned the radio on at a high volume. Pretty soon, a small party was taking place beneath the tree, with all of the younger students reacquainting themselves and Odd watching from the branch he was lounging out on.

After a little bit of time had passed, and a few more students who saw Odd and seemed to figure out what was happening had joined the group, Odd lowered the volume and stood up. The younger students turned to look at him, and Odd shot them a happy but gentle smile.

"For new students, welcome! For the veterans, welcome back! My name is Odd and, as of an hour ago, I am the new official student counselor at Kadic Academy. If you have a problem, and don't want to go to the adults or want the adults to know, you can come to me!" The younger students cheered at this, and Odd grinned back before pulling out a cloth.

"Now, a number of you know that I don't do things the normal way. While I will do private counseling sessions, most if not all activities will be group-based, but only those who are in my little club will know about it. So, who wants to join?" The little group raised their hands, many from last year and the three newer students feeling comforted with the idea of an older student helping them out.

Odd's eyes sparkled at seeing so many agreements to join and opened the cloth he was holding. With a flourish, it swayed to show its symbol. "This will be the banner for our group, then!" he cheered, and, looking out at the group from a black background was a red Xana's eye.

* * *

><p>"So you saw Odd while heading here?" Ulrich asked as he put her sheets on her bed. Yumi looked at him for a second before putting her clothes in the drawers and closet.<p>

"Yeah. And he had this little girl with him. She couldn't have been older than twelve; I think he said her name was Emily. He _said_ he was gonna show her where her classes were but…"

"…that doesn't sound like Odd." Ulrich finished for her, and Yumi smiled at him in agreement as she closed her drawers and closet. "I guess we can check on him later, make sure Xana didn't wake up and possess him or something."

"If you want." Yumi then walked over and grabbed Ulrich's hand. As she pulled him up, she pecked him on the cheek and started walking to the door. "Let's see how Jeremie and Aelita are doing," she said, smiling at her boyfriend. Ulrich blushed a light pink but smiled and caught up with her.

* * *

><p>"Okay guys. I call this the Lyoko eye. I've seen this symbol for years, and over time it began to represent something to me. It began to stand for all of the times where I learned from my past mistakes and benefited from the help of others. It's a symbol meant to remind you that, as long as you're here, you're never alone." Odd smiled at the group, and pointed at someone who had raised their hand. "Question?"<p>

"You called it the Lyoko eye. Why do you call it that?" The child who asked had once been locked in a closet while afraid of the dark, and Odd had found him and pranked his bully by rigging his belt during a school assembly. One wrong move and the bully's pants fell down in front of the principal and Sissy. The young boy became quite close to Odd after that.

"Oh; Lyoko actually stands for something I thought up. It means Learning from Your Offenses through the Knowledge of Others, or Lyoko for short. That'll kinda be our little group's name." Odd rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and the little ones stared at him for a second before the same boy from before jumped up.

"That sounds awesome, Odd!"

The other kids chipped in, eventually growing to where they were chanting, "Lyoko" until Odd laughed and raised his hands, quieting them.

"Thank you, Lucas." The boy who shouted the encouragement earlier blushed and hid his face under his shaggy brown hair, his eyes sparkling proudly under his glasses. "Now, since I'm a student counselor, I'll be living in the co-ed dorms. As you all know, that dorm is usually only used to house teachers, so don't do things I would do while you guys are visiting me. Also, don't tell anyone about Lyoko; I met all of you because you needed me, and I don't want those who don't need the assurance I offer to think they do. Alright?"

The group nodded, and they spoke for a little while before heading to unpack their things. Odd folded the banner up and stopped for a moment to bury his face into it. "I bet you never expected something like this, huh Xana?" he whispered into the cloth. He grinned a little to himself. "I bet you never thought that a human would carry your banner for good, did'ya?" He sat there for a second longer, then tucked the cloth back under his hoodie and grabbed his boom box. The little piranhas had eaten all of his food, so it was with the only two inedible things he brought with him that he headed back to his room.

As he was heading back, a voice reached Odd that made him spin around. "Odd!" The blonde being called looked around and saw Ulrich and Yumi jogging to him.

He grinned at the couple in welcome and stopped to wait for them. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Ulrich matched his grin and bumped fists with the blonde. "Not much. Huh; what're those for?" Ulrich was asking about the gloves that Odd had been wearing for a while. They were thin and purple with yellow accents scattered about. "They look like athletic gloves."

Odd nodded. "They are. I thought they would go well with my outfit. What do ya think?" He winked playfully at his friend and did a small twirl, which got a laugh out of Yumi.

Ulrich stared blankly at his friend and tried to think of a response. _At least Odd would take it better than Yumi_, he thought, relieved. "It looks…good."

"Aw, aren't you sweet." Odd teased. "So, was there something you guys wanted?"

"Oh yeah. Yumi told me you were showing a junior high student where her classes were and we wanted to make sure Xana didn't get you."

"Plus, you slept through so many of your classes last year, we didn't want you to get hopelessly lost." Yumi said. The three laughed at that and Odd rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Nah, I'm fine. And once I figured out that I didn't _know_ where her classes were, she said she'd be fine and would find them on her own." Odd explained. The couple laughed at him a little, and then grabbed his arms and dragged him to Jeremie and Ulrich's room, where he and Aelita were finishing up on installing some software.

Odd smiled as their group was reunited for a while and looked at the two couples interacting warmly. He ignored how they seemed to forget he was even there and pulled out a sketch book. In no time a world was being drawn onto the papers, and no one knew it but the blonde who reached up and rubbed a pendent he wore thoughtfully.

The pendent was a black wood with a red Lyoko eye painted onto it. It stood out surrounded against his purple and pink ensemble, but none of the gang noticed as he rubbed his thumb against it.

* * *

><p>Now, I know it's called the Xana eye, but I couldn't think of a good acronym with Xana. Plus, different parts of Lyoko bear the symbol, like Scipio, so I can't see this as a symbol exclusive only to Xana.<p>

If anyone is confused about why Odd's still hanging out with his friends, none of them are aware that Odd has slowly been distancing himself from them. This will make the realization that they are losing him all the more effective in my opinion. A bond no one knows is broken is always a painful thing to fix, after all.

Odd's unusual lack of disdain toward the Xana eye will be explained in another side-story I am writing up.

Please review.

Ja ne!


	3. What're Friends For?

Don't own Code Lyoko.

Don't own the Cover Art.

Itsuki is from my fic Pocky.

What're Friends For?

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><p>Odd waved at his friends one more time, their "hang-out" time done for the day, before turning and jogging back to the co-ed dorm. Ulrich and Yumi watched him go and, once he was out of sight, turned to face one another.<p>

"Did you think Odd was…" Ulrich started, only for Yumi to interrupt him.

"A little off today? Totally." Ulrich gave her a small smile but turned to face the direction Odd had left in.

"Why do you think he was a little out of it, though? It if were serious, he would've told us, but anything less and it's like prying molars from him."

Yumi hugged Ulrich's arm and started walking him back to Jeremie and Ulrich's shared room. "It's probably just the new school year and having to sleep in the co-ed dorm. All of these changes are just throwing Odd for a loop, I bet."

Jeremie hesitated, before giving in and smiling at her. "Yeah, you may be right there. We can find out once classes start if it's still a problem." And with that, Odd's new attitude was pushed to the back of their minds.

But it still lingered in the back of their minds, a niggling doubt that wouldn't go away.

* * *

><p>Once Odd got back to his room, he quickly finished unpacking and lied on his bed with a huff. The others invite him along, but they're all too focused on one another or their next date to notice him anymore.<p>

Maybe he should just avoid meeting up with them…?

Before he could think on it much longer, a knock on his door broke him out of his thoughts. "It's open," he called.

There was a small pause before the door opened. "Odd? It's me." Itsuki? What was he doing here? Odd sat up a little more and gestured the boy in.

"Hey Itsuki, you can come on in. I wasn't expecting to see you today; is anything wrong?"

The boy shook his head and looked up at Odd shyly. "No. I wasn't able to go to the meeting I saw you making earlier; I had to discuss my class schedule with a counselor. How did it go? Were there any new people today?"

"I think it went well. First thing's first, I was approved to be a student counselor, so if anything's bothering you you're welcome to come talk to me about it and if it's serious we'll go to the teacher but not before then. Now on to those other things; I think the meeting went well, and we had three new people join the little group. I think the first thing we'll be doing will be during the first-year camping trip. I volunteered for it and since I'm a student counselor now, I'm almost guaranteed to go."

The boy sighed in relief and smiled at Odd. "That's reassuring to here; I had worried that I wouldn't be able to see you during the camping trip." He lowered his voice a little and dropped his eyes in embarrassment. "I haven't told anyone yet that I struggle a little with slag and phrases in English and I was worried I would be completely alone during the camping trip."

Odd patted the kid on the shoulder comfortingly. "Naw, I'll be there. But this'll be a great time to work on making some friends your age, too. I know a few of the kids I talk to would like you a lot and who knows, you guys could end up being the next set of troublemakers – after yours truly of course."

Itsuki smiled at him, but the worry was still lingering in his eyes. "I've never had a friend here other than you, Odd-niisan."

Odd grinned at him. "It'll be great! Friends are awesome things! They keep you safe when you're hurt and take care of you when you're sick, and they're always there for you in the end, even if it isn't in person. Friends are the greatest things you could ever have."

Itsuki looked at him closely, and gave a genuine smile. "You must think very highly of your friends, Odd-niisan."

Odd nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Emily and Michael and Lucas and you; you're all great friends!"

Itsuki's smile tapered away slightly. "What about Ulrich-senpai and Yumi-senpai? Are they not your friends as well?"

Odd was honestly startled by the question and paused for a moment to order his thoughts. He drooped a little. "What I just told you about what friends do for each other no matter what? Sometimes these days I don't think they would do any of those things for me. They're great guys, and I like hanging out with them, but…"

"Are they your friends?" Itsuki asked, and Odd hugged his legs.

"I don't know anymore. And that kinda scares me."

* * *

><p>It was their third day into classes, and everything was going well. Odd hadn't pranked anyone yet, and many took that as a mixed blessing; he hasn't gotten them yet, but typically the longer he waits the more brutal the prank when it springs. This led Ulrich and Yumi to sending Odd cautious glances as they took notes.<p>

But the blonde didn't do anything, simply taking notes and tapping a random beat onto his desk the entire time.

It was suspicious.

There was finally a break in the tension (even the teacher felt it at this point, twitching whenever Odd's arm moved farther than his notebook) when a younger teen knocked and entered the classroom. "Is Odd Della Robbia here?" He asked, shuffling the papers in his hands. "The counselor wishes to see him."

"I'm Odd," the blonde answered, standing and gathering his things, ignoring everyone's snickers at his unintentional pun. "Thanks for getting me, Aaron."

"No problem," the kid answered, bumping shoulders with him as they stepped out. That gave Ulrich room for pause. Odd was a tactile person, true, but only with people he felt comfortable with. That usually meant that only their group were recipient to unintentional contact from the happy blonde, so to see someone else casually respond back was actually kind of startling.

Ulrich turned to look at Yumi, and found her gazing right back at him, surprised. "Did you see…" he started, and she nodded.

"Yeah. I've never seen Odd that comfortable around anyone other than us. How do you think they met? Odd typically has a teasing older brother persona to most of the younger students, but this one seemed a little closer."

"Let's go to Odd's room later," Ulrich decided. Odd had chosen their room for all of the years they roomed together, and it was always that same room. He should be there. "We can ask him then."

Yumi nodded, but still looked uncomfortable, and Ulrich empathized. To see Odd interacting casually with someone neither of them even knew was troubling. But they'll ask him about it soon, so Ulrich dismissed it for the moment.

Or maybe they _won't_ get to ask him about it later.

"I'm sorry, Ulrich, but Odd doesn't live in this room anymore," the boy in front of him insisting, apologetic but not changing the thing he'd told them for the last five minutes. "And I don't know why. Or where he is now. Or anything else you seem to think I know. The only thing I know is that I live in this room with my roommate who is not Odd. Sorry I can't help you more." The guy then closed the door, and Ulrich looked at Yumi in shock.

Not only was Odd not living there, but they didn't have any idea of where he could be.

"What the hell is going on?" Ulrich asked.

Yumi put her hand on his shoulder in comfort, but didn't know what to say either. After a moment, Ulrich growled and stalked away, heading to the cafeteria. It was lunch time and, if there was anything he could rely on, it was Odd's bottomless pit of a stomach.

It was time to get some questions answered.

* * *

><p>Odd knew that something bad was about to happen when Ulrich entered the cafeteria.<p>

Correction: He knew that something bad was about to happen when Ulrich stormed into the cafeteria, opening the doors so violently that they banged against the walls behind them and terrifying the local fauna that were their fellow classmates.

Odd, who had been entertaining some of the younger students by juggling various food items and utensils, put them all down immediately when Ulrich's eyes locked onto him. "Guys," he called them quietly, ensuring he has their attention. "Now's a good time for you to not be here, or you may hear words that you shouldn't know yet, possibly in various languages." When they hesitated, he shot them a reassuring look that he hoped look real. "I'll be fine. Go."

They scrambled out of their seats just in time.

"Odd." The person in question immediately tensed at how his name was said, in that low, 'I'll give you five seconds to explain yourself and you _might_ live at the end' voice.

"Ulrich, darling, how has your day been?" He asked jokingly, trying to calm his maybe-former-friend down. It didn't work.

"My day's been okay. I went looking for you earlier, so I went to your room. Sorry; your _old_ room." Odd winced. "What the hell, Odd? Why didn't you tell us that you didn't live there anymore?"

"Why didn't you ask?" He shot back. "You guys hung out with me a few days ago; why didn't any of you think to ask where I was living? I couldn't stay there, Ulrich; it's a two-person bedroom and I'm not two people. And they won't count Kiwi as a person, unfortunately. And I wasn't going to get a new roommate, who knows who I'll end up with. So I live in a single."

"Aren't those farther from campus?" Now Yumi entered the conversation, both curious and trying to calm her enraged boyfriend.

"Typically, yes." He wasn't lying here, but he didn't want them knowing that he was a student counselor yet.

"Still, you could have told us," Ulrich vented, a little calmer now.

Odd felt a flare of irritation. "When we meet, it's always at yours or Yumi's room, and mine probably couldn't hold all of us comfortably anyway. And besides, why does it matter? It's not you guys visit unless you want something from me." He stood up. "I gotta go."

"You haven't even eaten yet," Yumi argued weakly.

The look Odd gave them was somewhat bitter. "I've lost my appetite." And, as he walked out of the cafeteria, that probably told them more about how he felt then than it didn't.

* * *

><p>I almost ended this with Ulrich storming to the cafeteria to confront Odd then realized that that would be mean, considering who knows when I'll update this next.<p>

I had literally lost interest in writing in the Code Lyoko fandom for a while, and I'm still not really back, but the encouraging words of many people who were interested in seeing the next chapter come out, despite how long it has been, inspired me to finish this chapter. Candy-Cat Moon, AntiDeviinaXX, and shinxshinx1595, among others - thank you for your kind words and encouragement.

Another thanks to shinxshinx1595 for helping me figure out where to go with this chapter after seeing what little I already had for it.

And a heartfelt thanks to all of you for putting up with me.

Please review.

Ja ne!


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